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I t seems strange to think that it is quicker to
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take freight off one aircraft and drive it by road to another airport for onward transshipment than to fly it there, but this is what happens in the mysterious world of air cargo. Interpalace Freight, a few miles down the road from the Shannon Airport, is well versed in these mysteries. It works for air-cargo shipping agents and airlines in Ireland and the UK. All its UK work is time-sensitive deliveries to airports: mostly to Heathrow but with some drops in the East Midlands and Stansteci. For this work the company has several rollerised trailers to handle freight loaded on airline pallets.
Transport manager Tom Greaney says the company plans to start direct deliveries to UK customers before long, with one or two trucks leaving Ireland nightly: 'We can't mix normal freight with airfreight, because those loads are often sealed by customs and come out of one bonded warehouse to go into another." The company runs a similar operation within Ireland, serving Dublin, Cork and Shannon, transferring freight from one airport to another airport or airline. "Aer Lingus offer a service to their customers out of Shannon and we supply the truck," says Greaney, putting it simply. He has a vehicle dedicated to Aer Lingus which works round the clock, doublemanned. A typical day will include a morning collection at Shannon, continue with an afternoon delivery at Cork, a return to Shannon for a change of driver. The fresh driver then strikes out overnight for Dublin, delivers, collects and returns to Shannon for the morning shift, handing back to the first driver. Greaney accepts that double-manning is not popular among drivers who like to have their "own" truck. "We try to keep it to the same two drivers: some still don't like it but in this day and age you can't afford to keep the vehicles idle." More conventional, perhaps, is a contract for UPS where Interpalace collects between five to 12 trailers a clay from a factory in Limerick for sea shipment out of Dublin. Much of the company's work is spot hire: "People ring on a daily basis so there is little time to react," says Greaney, "We need to have men and vehicles on standby." This leads to the use of subcontractors in busy periods. The company now runs more than 30 vehicles of its own, from artics down to collection vans, evidence of strong growth since beginning with one rigid 12 years ago. From January, Interpalace in Clare will be renamed Cargo King because it has sold its UK-interest to the Rutges Group, a former partner which plans to retain the Interpalace name in Dublin. However, international
T4 ooking out from his spacious new depot on the edge of Galway Bay, lggy Madden seems entitled to his belief that "there is a great buzz in the country".
He is talking about the Irish economy, of course, but his own outlook has benefited in the past year from moving from a cramped, half-acre dock site to one six times its size less than a mile away. It is built on land whose reclamation was partly funded by the EU, although Madden received no help toward the purchase of his share. From being able to squeeze only one truck and trailer into his garage, he now has room for three and can park 60 in the yard.
The site is five minutes from the N59, linking with Ireland's major road networks. He is reluctant to say how much the development cost but admits: "I will be old before it's paid for." But why the move?
"You can't sit at the same level in this business you have to move forward or get out."
The larger site increases the options — more trucks perhaps, certainly warehousing. A drag on the economy has come from the BSE crisis. "If you could get the beef back on track, the country would be fine," says Madden.
He used to run up to 12 loads of fresh meat to France and Italy each week; that has dwindled to three or four. Keen to maintain continental backloads of fruit and vegetables, he has managed to find dry freight for the outward journeys. Fortunately, three-quarters of the company's business comes from within Ireland and around half its total volume from chemicals. Hazchem loads to the UK are very tightly controlled.
"You are restricted to freight boats and the ferries have to be notified in advance exactly what is going to be carried and over what period," says Madden, who is annoyed by the attitude of some insurance companies who refuse to cover hazchem loads. He is insured but his choice is limitecL "People are ignorant of the fact that you don't approach this work half-heartedly. You have to have proper equipment and drivers trained to do a first-class job," he adds.
Easier on the nerves is a contract to supply water treatment chemicals from a plant in Spiddal, Galway, to water authorities all over Ireland.
Madden began in business 19 years ago, running a fleet of forklifts in the docks. Formerly employed as a crane driver for Iarnrod Eireann (Irish Railways) he was in a good position to assess the need for handling equipment. When the number of forklifts on the docks began to outstrip demand, Madden added some trucks. "From there it mushroomed," he says.
Early contracts included hauling chemicals for coastal oil ;exploration within Ireland and taking chemicals and groupage to the Continent. He has moved on since then but the headaches never go away: "This is a blood, sweat and tears job."
Current headaches include the Holyhead police who, Madden says, are over-zealous, often holding up trucks which are carrying time-sensitive goods, such as meat. He has taken one driver off UK runs because he Was getting "so much grief from two particular police".
The driver had a fine for a previous tacho offence, which had been dealt with, but he continued to be stopped on every trip. Madden is upset by the implication: "We don't run on the wire-.if we can't run legal we wonl't do it."